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Achieving forest sustainability in a low-population density society such as British Columbia (B.C.) poses different problems to those of South America. British Columbia has experienced the same problems as most of North America, in that for a century or two its forests have been plundered to support rapid economic growth. The Province has nowto adjust to lower rates of extraction of forest products. Increasedawareness of the services a forest provides, besides the provision of wood products, is leading legislators to revise substantially forest management practices. That ownership of Canadian forests is still almost entirely in the hands of the public sector helps the process ofchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Part I. Presents a study that aimed to monitor the timing and magnitude of changes in forest floor depth, mass, and nitrogen-capital after clearcutting on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Definition of clearcutting; Factors that regulate changes in forest floor properties; Factors affecting decomposition rates.

Part III. Presents a study that estimated the magnitude of possible sinks for forest floor nitrogen (N) along the 26-year post-clearcutting chronosequence in the Pacific silver fir and western hemlock ecosystems on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Factors that determine a simulation model's ability to predict future forest growth and harvestible values; Total biomass and N-content of various components of the overstory and understory vegetation; Leaching losses of N.

Part II. Presents a study that documented the temporal pattern of soil-nitrogen (N) associated with a post-clearcutting chronosequence in the Coastal Western Hemlock zone of British Columbia. Comparison between the indices of soil-N availability in a 400-year-old stand and neighboring clearcuts and the historical tree growth patterns and foliar-N concentrations of current-year needles; Reason that the needle-N concentration of Pacific silver fir was chosen over that of hemlock as a bioassay of soil-N availability; Discussion on N-mineralization rates.

Focuses on the potential use of non-timber forest products by aboriginal peoples in British Columbia and neighboring areas. Economic importance of plant products; Issues in the harvesting and marketing of NTFP from both aboriginal and non-aboriginal participants; Protection of intellectual property rights and cultural integrity.